Secret or combination lock



Sept. 4, 1951 Filed April 29, 1947 A. SOLER CAPDEVILA SECRET ORCOMBINATION LOCK 6 Sheeis-Sheet l Fl I3-lp 4, 1951 A. SOLER CAPDEVILA2,566,967

SECRET OR COMBINATION LOCK Filed April 29, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIELE-6 Sept. 4, 1951 A. SOLER CAPDEVILA SECRET OR COMBINATION LOCK 6Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 29, 1947 i M J S p 1951 A. SOLER CAPDEVILA2,566,967

SECRET OR COMBINATION LOCK p 19751 A. SOLER CAPDEVILA 2,566,967

SECRET OR COMBINATION LOCK Filed April 29, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 5FlEuEli.

Sept- 4, 1951 A. SOLER CAPDEVILA SECRET QR COMBINATI-ON LOCK 6Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 29, 1947 d aw 4% Patented Sept. 4, 1951UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application April 29, 1947, Serial No.744,707 In Spain October 10, 1944 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8,1946 Patent expires October 10, 1964 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a new type of secret or combination lock, thatis to say a keyless lock in which the combination is brought about bythe coinciding of various movable elements.

Secret or combination locks comprising a certain number of discs thatare made to turn independentl and that have to coincide in a positionpreviously decided of before the displacement of the bolt becomespossible are already well known.

The lock that forms the object of this invention differs completely fromthe above-mentioned well-known type and comprises a certain number ofwards that can be displaced vertically or in some other direction, eachone of these wards being composed of two pieces or parts coupledtogether and whose relative position may be changed at will, and one ofthe two halves or parts of each ward carrying, moreover, a toothed rackby means of which the gradual displacement of the complete orv doubleward is brought about, the other half bearing a notch or indented groovethat permits the displacement of the locking bolt when it coincides withall the wards on one and the same plane. In combination with the wards,and, more precisely, with that half that is provided with a toothedrack, there is a pawl or clutch tooth that brings about the displacementof the wards. This pawl tooth can be displaced in a direction parallelto itself in order to come opposite one or other of the wards, which isbrought about by means of a button r feeler, that, on being worked,situates the said pawl opposite the toothed rack of the first ward, orelse, on being pressed twice, opposite the second ward, and so on insuccession. The pawl is also in combination with a second feeler bymeans of which the said pawl may be displacedin the direction of itsaxis, so that it can catch in one of the teeth of the toothed rack ofthe chosen ward, causing that ward to advance to an extent correspondingto the distance between two teeth.

So, then, when once the pawl or clutch tooth has been brought oppositethe toothed rack of the ward it is desired to move, the second feeler ispressed as many times as it is necessary to move the ward in questionforward, the ward remaining fixed in the required position by means of aseparate retaining pawl or tooth.

In this manner each one of the wards is displaced, independently oi eachother, to the ex.- tent desired and previously determined in accordancewith the combination that has been chosen, and when they have all beendisplaced, the co- 2 incidence of the notch or indented groove isbrought about, which permits the displacement of th rga s t a Work t ocbolt.

The look further comprises a mechanism brought into action by a thirdfeeler by means of which all the wards and pawls are left free, the f mt rn n to their original position or point of departure.

This mechanism is worked by hand by means of the feeler whenever thisshould be desired, and is also worked by the bolt of the lock itself, insuch a manner that, on opening the lock, the original position of thewards and pawls are restored.

Finally, the loc furth r co pr s s he m ns of making it possible tochange the secret or combination whenever this may be desired, and forthis purpose, one of the halves of the wards is mounted on a movableplate capable of being displaced laterally and that may be attached tothe rear plate of the look by means of a bracket b arin r h mb s e sucha Way that on loosening the said crew and sliding the movable plate, thetwo halves of the wards can be separated from each other and the newcombination then set up, the two halves then being put together again inaccordance with the fresh combination.

The attached drawings show, as an example a constructional form ofsetting up the lock that is the object of this patent.

Figure l is a vertical section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2 showingthe disposition of the feelers or stops.

Figure 2 is a front View of the interior mechanism of the lock, with therear plate of the safe and certain other elements removed and the lockclosed or locked.

Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 which shows the mechanismof the lock after the com.- bination has been brought into action andwith the lock opened.

Figure 4 is a transverse section along the line IV--IV of Figure 3 withthe rear plate and certain of the other elements replaced,

Figure 5 shows the obverse of the lock with the bolt shot or closed.

Figure 6 shows the obverse of the look, too, but after it has beenopened.

The look as a whole can be Seen in Figures 1, 2 d 3- I is made p of abasic plat In a d by another parallel front plate I I, kept at asuitable distance apart by the small columns or pillars 12. thu m g annclo ure r ca e hat encloses the mechanism of the lock. On the insideface of the plate 10 there has been placed another plate I 3 (Fig. 4) oflesser dimensions and mounted in such a, manner that it may be given asmall sideways displacement and capable of being fixed in therequisiteposition by means of the nut or thumb-screw 14 that screws ontothe peg or pin l5 solidly mounted in the plate.

In contact with the said plate l3 there are disposed a certain number ofWards, placed one above the other and made up, as has been said above,of two halves l6 and H. The plat l3 carries two or more pins l8 thatserve as guides to the wards I6, being introduced into a slot or groove[9 made longwise in the said wards, in such a manner that the latter maymove in a, vertical direction, as may be seen in Figures 2 and 3. On theother hand, the other half of the wards or the part I! is mounted in asimilar way on pins 20, fixed to the rear wall It of the framework andgoing through the plate l3 by cuts 2| made for the purpose that extentin a transversal direction.

The parts [6 and H are coupled together so that they both are displacedat the same time or in unison, and this coupling is constituted by theplacing of a cogged edging 22 on the inside edge of the part 16 and by atooth or projection 23 fixed in the inside edge of the part I1 andcapable of fitting into any point on the cogged edge 22, the relation ofheight between the parts [6 and i! then being altered. The part It has,moreover, a slot 24 in its outer edge, into which a projecting arm of aretention lever for the locking bolt may be introduced, as will bedescribed later on, and on the other hand, the part I! has, on its outeredge, a cogged track or ratchet 25, preferably in the shape of the teethof a saw, by means of which the displacement of the wards is broughtabout.

It will, then, be understood that with this arrangement of the wardsthey may be displaced in an upward or downward direction, being suitablyguided by the pins I8 fixed to the plate i 3 and by the pins 20, fixedto the rear wall I 0. The downward movement of the wards is facilitatedby the action of a spring 28 stretched between the lower ward and afixed point in the framework 29.

Parallel to the toothed edges of the wards is a pawl or clutch tooth 30mounted so as to oscillate at the end of a rod or ruler 3| that can bedisplaced vertically, sliding on the inside of a guide made for thatpurpose 32. This guide 32 is attached to a cylindrical pin 33 arrangedtransversally to the lock and in such a manner that, after going throughthe rear wall it is introduced into a socket 34 of suitable sizeattached to the rear wall referred to, and having a cavity 35 thatserves as a guide and support to the pin 33. In the said cavity there islodged a spring 35 that distends so as to force the pin 33 outwards andtowards the front of th lock.

The pin 33 has a nerve or cotter 37 that on being introduced into asuitable slot in its support, prevents the said pin from turning, thusassuring the correct position of the tooth of the pawl. The pin 33 hasalso, on its side, a tooth that works in combination with a retainingtooth or pawl 39 elastically mounted on a suitable support 40, in such amanner that the said retaining tooth serves to fix the position of thepin and, therefore, of the tooth of the pawl exactly opposite the wardit is desired to move.

The pin 33 itself is also provided with another cogged track or ratchet4| in its lower side (Figure 1), arranged so as to work in combinationwith a feeler button that projects beyond the" surface on the outside ofthe lock, the said button being constituted by a socket 42 that is of asolid piece with a pin 43 capable of moving in th direction of its axisor parallel to its axis on the inside of the cylindrical sleeve as thatpasses through the rear wall ll of the lock underneath the operating pin33. The pin 43 has at its end a cam or tooth 45 that remains hiddeninside the cylindrical sleeve 44 when the pin is displaced towards theoutside by the action of the spring 45 situated in the interior of thesocket and the said tooth engages in one of the cogs of the ratchet 4|and carries it forward to the extent necessary for the operating rod 3|with clutch tooth 30 to be displaced until it is brought opposite thecontiguous ward, moving forward each time a distance equal to thatbetween two wards, the cylindrical pin 33 being held in the requiredposition by the retaining tooth 39, as has been said above.

And so, by means of the feeler button 42 the clutch tooth 30 is movedalong and brought opposite the ward it is desired to move.

Once this position has been reached, the operating rod 3| is broughtinto action by means of the button or feeler 50, which, like the onedescribed above, is in the shape of a socket attached to a central pin5| that can be displaced in the inside of a cylindrical sleeve 52attached to the front plate of the lock. The central pin 5| ends in aninclined plane 53 that acts on the movable piece 54 mounted in asuitable manner on the supports 55 in such a way that it may bedisplaced in a vertical direction. The piece 54 is widened out at itsupper end to form a small platform 56 on which the rod or ruler 3| isbrought to rest, so that in whatever position the said operating rod 3|may be at the moment, it will be pushed by the piece 54 on beingdisplaced upwards by the button or feeler 50, in such a manner thatwhenever this button is brought into action the tooth 30 of rod 3|brings about the upward displacement of the selected ward to an extentcorresponding to one tooth. The wards are retained in the position theyhave reached, by means of the retaining teeth 68 (Figures 2 and 3), onefor each plate, mounted so as to be able to oscillate on the axis BI andthat, by means of the respective springs 62, engage at the point ortooth 63, in the cogs of the ratchet 25, thus preventing the wards fromdropping.

The spiral or other form of spring 51 is intended to push the operatingrod 3| towards the lower part, keeping it in contact with the piece 54.

When once the wards have been brought into the desired position theslots or notches 24 coincide on the same plane and into them ma now beintroduced the nerve or rib 65 of the lever 66 that revolves around theaxle 6? and comes under the action of the spring 68 that is intended tobring the nerve or rib 65 alongside the lateral edge of the wards andengage it in the slots or notches 24 as soon as they are in line.

The lever 66 brings pressure to bear sideways on the displaceable stoppeg 69 so that whilst the said lever is in the position shown in Figure2 the stop peg 69 projects on the opposite side (Figure 5) and preventsthe displacement of the looking bolt 13, since the said stop peg comesup against the feather or tongue M of the same. On the other hand, thestop peg 69 comes under the pressure of a spring that is intended tolift it against the lever 66 so that as soon as the nerve or rib 65 isintroduced into the slot 24 the said stop peg is left free, thus.enabling the displacement of the locking bolt "I3 in order to unlock it.The displacement of said locking bolt I3 is obtained by any convenientmeans. In Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 there is shown a handle I4 fixed on anaxle 15. This axle has a forked arm I6 which.

embraces a pin 'II fixed on the locking bolt 13 and protruding through aslot I8 cut in the rear plate of the lock. The rotation of handle I4produces a right or left displacement of locking bolt I3. If a moreextensive displacement is desired it can be obtained by means of atoothed rack and pinion arrangement. The tongue I0 is mounted in such away as to be able to oscillate on the axle II and is submitted to theaction of a sheet spring I2 in such a manner that, in the reversemovement, on the bolt being locked, the lever 66 once again pushes thestop peg 69, which in its turn lifts up the said tongue I0 until thebolt returns to its closed or locked position. The stop peg 69, oncoming up against the end of the tongue I0 constitutes a safety catchthat prevents any possible displacement of the bolt.

The mechanism of the lock that constitutes the object of this patent isin combination with an arrangement that enables the position of thewards constituting the combination in respect to one another to bereturned to their original position, or the one represented in Figure 2,and this may be convenient or necessary whenever some mistake may havearisen on pressing the buttons or feelers, or if it should be necessaryto work the combination again from the beginning.

For this purpose a third feeler button has been provided, situated inthe upper part of the lock, and which, like the previously mentionedones, is constituted by a socket 8Q solid with a pin or peg BI that maybe displaced in the direction of its axis in the interior of a tubularsleeve 82 attached to the rear plate of the lock. The pin 83, at itsinner end, terminates in an inclined plane 83 that acts on one edge ofthe opening 84 made in the slide or runner piece 85, that is capable ofan upward or a downward displacement, as it is suitably guided by thesupports 86. This piece 85 forms, at its lower end, a platform 81 thatrests on the rear part of all the retaining teeth 60 in such a way thaton the feeler button 80 being pressed, the piece 85 is displaceddownwards, and this pushes the retaining teeth 60 and causes them tooscillate around their axis SI and sets the teeth 63 free from thewards, whereby the said Wards all remain free and are displaced towardstheir extreme lower position by their own weight and with the assistanceof the spring 28.

The displaceable piece 85 bears, on one of its faces, an axle 90 that isintroduced into a slot of a slanting shape 9| of the lever 92, capableof oscillating around its axle 93, and the said lever terminates, at itsother end, in a finger or point 94 that, on oscillating, comes to lieagainst the pin 95 attached to an extension of the tooth 39, in such amanner that when the piece 85 comes down, the said lever 92 oscillatesand comes away from the tooth 39 that was fixing the position of the pin33, this latter thus being free to return to its original position byvirtue of the action of the spring 36, whilst, at the same time, theretaining teeth [i3 are also set free. After this combined operation,the mechanism is in a position to bring the feeler buttons into playonce more.

This same operation for returning the wards to their original positionis brought about automatically by the displacement of the bolt itselfinitslocking movement. For this purpose the slide piece carries a pinI00 that goes through the rear wall of the look, through the slot I01.The locking bolt, as may be seen in Figure 5, has a feather or tongueI02, arranged in a slanting position and lodged in an opening made forthis purpose, this tongue being articulated on the axle I03 andsubmitted to the action of a sheet spring I04 that is intended to bringit to lie against the rear plate I!) of the lock. The pin I projects infront of the end of the tongue I02, and this end is cut at an angle orbevelled, so that, when the locking bolt slides in its movement forunlocking, the tongue comes up, passing over the pin I90, the said pinbeing, at the end of its movement, in the position represented in Figure6 against the lower sloping edge of the tongue. When the locking bolt isdisplaced, in its movement for looking, as is shown by the arrow inFigure 6, the tongue obliges the pin It'll] to displace itselfdownwards, and therefore the whole ensemble of the piece 85 describedabove is brought into action, thus returning the wards to their originalposition.

The displacement of the locking bolt also acts on the lever 66 thatfixes the wards, for the purpose of causing the said lever to return toits original position and leaving the wards free. For this purpose, onthe rear face of the locking bolt there is attached the support [05bearing the oscillating tooth 4%, that oscillates around the axle It? inthe direction shown by the arrow in Figure 5, and held in its extremeposition possible by the action of the spring I'll-8. On the other hand,the rear plate it of the lock bears the pin or axle I It that goesthrough the slot Iii, made in the locking bolt and serves as axle for alever H2 to turn on, which lever forms a tooth H3 that can, undercertain condiitons, come up against the tooth I85. The lever 66 has, atits lower end, a pin I I4 that, after going through the rear plate ofthe look through the slot or cut H 5 and the bolt plate through the slotH6, is intro-- duced into a slot II'I made in the above-mentioned pieceH2. Thanks to this arrangement, when the lever 56 oscillates around itsaxle t1 and the rib 65 is introduced into the slot of the wards, itpulls, in its movement, the lever H2, which takes up a vertical positionto the left of the tooth I86, and, in the movement of the unlocking ofthe locking bolt, this tooth I06 oscillates around the axle I0] andjumps to the other side of the tooth I I3, or, in other words, the leverI I2 is now to the right of the tooth lot, as may be seen in Figure 6.After this, on bringing about the locking movement of the bolt in thedirection shown by the'arrow in Figure 6, the tooth I96 comes up againstthe tooth H3 and causes the lever II2 to oscillate, which, in its turn,pulls the pin H4 which moves the lever 66, causing it to come away fromthe wards and making it possible to return them to their originalposition, as has already been explained, and leaving all the elements ofthe lock in condition to carry out a fresh operation.

The combination or secret of the lock may be modified at will. As hasalready been said above, the wards l5 are set on an interior plate is,and this plate is attached to a stem I5 that goes through the rear plateIll of the look. This stem by means of a nut or thumb-screw It enablesthe plate to be fixed in the desired position. The wards IT, on theother hand, are guided by the pins 28 that are attached to the rearplate of the look, so that the said wards ll shall not receive anysideways displacement. Thanks to this arrangement, if the thumb-screw I4is loosened, the plate I 3 can be made to slide towards the left,pulling with it the wards ll, that is to say, the teeth 23 becomeseparated from the toothed rack or ratchet 22 and the relative positionof the wards may then be changed as desired.

Therefore, to change the combination, it is sufficient to unlock thelock in the usual way, and, when it is unlocked, and when all the wardsl6 come to be one above the other, the thumbscrew I4 is loosened and thewards are displaced towards the left by being uncoupled from the wardsll. The combination is then wiped out or annulled by pressing the button80, whereby the wards I! will all be displaced to their utmost limitdownwards, whereupon the fresh combination desired is marked by means ofthe buttons %2 and 50, and, once the new combinatioin has been set up asdesired, the wards it are slid back again and coupled once more with thewards I l in the new relative position they have acquired, and the lockis once again in position to function with the new combination. As willbe seen, all this is carried out without the necessity of taking downeither the lock or any of its organs.

The lock that constitutes the object of this patent may also beconstructed in such a Way that the buttons or feelers do not projectbeyond the front of the lock, and the whole mechanism is susceptible ofbeing set up in a reduced and compact form, being specially recommendedfor all those applications in which it is desirable to have a safetylock, such as the doors of flats, safes and others.

The preceding description refers solely to a preferential form ofsetting up the secret or combination lock that constitutes the object ofthis present patent, but it will, nevertheless, be understood that allor any of such variations of construction or detail as do not alter theessential characteristics, which will be resumed hereinafter, may beintroduced.

I claim:

1. A combination lock comprising a casing, a plurality of superimposedwards placed in such a manner that they may be displaced sideways, eachof said wards being composed of two parts placed side by side andmounted on independent guides carried by said casing, said two parts ofeach ward being movably coupled to each other, a first part of saidwards having a toothed rack in its inner edge and a second part havingin its inner edge a tooth engaging said rack, the displacement of one ofsaid parts displacing the other, a second toothed rack in the externaledge of one of said parts of said wards, clutch pawls operativelycontacting said second rack for bringing about the gradual displacementof the complete ward, a lateral indentation in the external edge of theother said part of said wards, a lever pivoted on said casing and beingprovided with a rib in contact with said external edge of the wards, alaterally displaceable locking bolt supported by said casing, aprojecting pin movably mounted in said casing and being normallyretained by said lever in a position to dog said bolt, said lever beingdisplaceable in a direction to position said rib in the indentations ofall said wards when said indentations coincide on the same transversalplane as regards said rib thereby permitting retracting the projectingpin, and said locking bolt being laterally displaceable when theprojecting pin is allowed of displacement by said lever.

2. A combination look as claimed in claim 1, said casing comprising arear, plate and having pins secured to said rear plate thereof, theparts of the wards having the second toothed racks thereon being guidedin vertical movement of displacement by said pins, a horizontallymovable plate in said casing, means for immobilizing said movableplate,pins attached to said horizontally movable plate, the parts of saidwards having the lateral indentations being guided in their verticaldisplacement by said last named pins, said parts of said wards havingthe indentations thereon also being displaceable by said. plate wherebyuncoupling of the other part of said wards is effected and enabling thecombination of said lock to be varied for anotherand diiferent one, thetwo parts of said wards then being capable of being coupled togetheragain for the normal functioning of the lock.

3. A combination lock as claimed in claim 2, a pawl tooth engageablewith said second toothed rack of one of said wards, a transversal pinmovably mounted in said casing, said pawl being mounted on saidtransversal pin, a first push but: ton mounted on said casing andadapted to 00-" act with said transversal pin and projecting outside ofsaid lock, the said transversal pin being capable of being displacedtransversally so as to' bring the pawl tooth opposite the ward it isdesired to move, and a retaining tooth movably mounted in said casingfor contacting and retaining said transversal pin in the desiredposition.

4. A combination lock as claimed in claim 3, a second button mounted onsaid casing and having an inclined plane, a vertically displaceableplate supported in said casing actuable by said second button, aplatform on said plate, said pawlresting on said platform wherebywhatever be the position of the said pawl with regard to one or anotherof said wards, the pressing of said second button brings about verticalmovement of the plate and action of said pawl to displace thecorresponding ward to the extent of the distance between two teeththereof, this operation being repeated as many times as may be necessaryto displace the ward to a desired extent.

5. A combination look as claimed in claim 4, an oscillating memberrotatably mounted in said casing, a ward retaining tooth on said memberfor engaging in said second toothed rack of said ward for fixing saidward at the height reached, and a spring in said casing in operablecontact with said member, the said member being osci1- latable under theaction of said spring for maintaining it constantly against the saidsecond toothed rack. 1

6. A combination lock as claimed in claim 5, a third push button mountedon said casing and having a pin with an inclined plane thereon, a platemember supported in said casing and movable by said pin, saidoscillating member having said retaining tooth being contacted by andmovable by said last named plate, said last named plate also moving theretaining tooth that fixes the transversal pin attached to the operatingpawl in such a manner that when the said push 9 ing operativelyconnected with said locking bolt, whereby upon movement in looking saidbolt, said last plate is put into motion, and said retainin tooth, saidwards and the other elements are returned to their original positionthrough the displacement of the locking bolt.

ANTONIO SOLER CAPDEVILA.

REFERENCES CITED Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Miller Oct. 5,1858 Bettis Mar. 22, 1887 Feistner June 3, 1890 Tatum Dec. 10, 1895Sidelinker Apr. 11, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date file of thispatent:

Sweden Aug. 17, 1937

